Saturday, July 07, 2007

The newsthat the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) yesterday instituted criminal proceedings (6/7/07) under the Criminal Code Article 275 (which includes espionage) against Vyacheslav Zharko, a former officer ( 4 yrs experience with rank of Major) of the Russian tax police, throws some more light and probably many more shadows on the Litvinenko affair.

Vyacheslav Zharko admitted he had been recruited by the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6) when he voluntarily surrendered in June to the friendly FSB. He claims he was receiving about 2,000 Euros in cash monthly (which apparently he did not declare for tax purposes !) for writing surveys for the British side “fishing out information from various Internet sites.” It was only when he realised what a small fish he was, in a big game he decided to "come clean". It also followed on from May 31st news conference given by Andrei Lugovoi, (accused by the UK Crown Prosecution Service on May 22 of murdering former Russian security officer Alexander Litvinenko) who accused Russia's fugitive, London based tycoon Boris Berezovsky of working for British intelligence. (Pic K.Pravda)

The state caim that he was really used by British intelligence...

“The Federal Security Service checked the statement of Russian citizen Zharko on the circumstances of his cooperation with British intelligence. The examination helped to get sufficient data showing that in the period from 2003 to 2007 officers of MI6 recruited him and then used as an agent during espionage actions to the detriment of external security of the Russian Federation,”

Zharko admits that his controllers planned to collect information about a number of officers of Russian security services with the aim of recruting them..

“At a meeting with British officers they asked me to collect information about personnel of Russian security services that might be useful for Britons for recruitment,”

In an interview published by the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily on Saturday he said that a man calling himself John Callaghan, (who he says was first secretary of the British Embassy in Moscow and is regarded a career intelligence officer) and one called Paul met him in London, Istanbul, Helsinki and Cyprus.

“The Britons later also confessed to me that they were intelligenceofficers and John Callaghan told me that he was working under the cover of theembassy in Moscow and took part in general operations, for instance, had oncephotographed secret documents in a restaurant WC,”

....he also named a Ken Philips who he says also worked in Moscow and now he is an intelligence officer in the British Embassy in Istanbul. Apparently these FO johnnies gave him a fancy mobile phone they would use to call him - but which was for receive only purposes.

Amongst his claims Zharkov says the Brits could not eliminate the possibility that the FSB had recruited an agent in the British embassy and “asked me if I could using my connections in security services to track down the ‘mole.” They also asked him to find out if “specific connections of certain non-governmental organisations could come under control of Russian security services.”

Intriguingly Zharko claims that British intelligence were working on cojunction with Boris Berezovsky and Alexander Litvinenko, whose death he says was caused by his undertaking “some personal experiments.”

His implication is that Litvinenko had been distanced from BB , his salary cut, and the Brits were starting to cold shoulder him ... and he desperately needed ..."money at all costs".

He also has a personal theory that through the Chechens and Zakayev that Sasha could have ,

"come in contact with dealers engaged in the contraband of radioactivematerials and get a fatal dose either accidentally or not.”

The Brits it seems were well aware of Sasha and his relationship with the exiled oligarchs and in early 2000 told Zharko “Sasha is not quite in his right mind.”

It would be wise to recall that Litvinenko is claimed to have been poisoned with radioactive Polonium-210, - but (unremarkably in this wilderness of mirrors) no official autopsy report has so far been made publicly available. Tricky one for our tyro Foriegn Secretary to deal with .. probably best ignore it.

The Russian scientist and engineer Nikolai Yegorovich Zhukovsky Николай Егорович Жуковский(1841-1921) was one of the founders of hyrdo and aerodynamics and a key figure in the history of science - and much overlooked. A village grew up named after him on the outskirts of Moscow where eventually a massive test facility / airstrip was developed which has always been designated as Ramenskoye Airfield and where the Aerodynamic Institute was established in 1904 and later in 1918 the Central AeroHydroDynamics Institute (Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т (ЦАГИ), ) TsAGI - the first time a scientific institution combined basic studies, applied research, structural design, pilot production and testing of aircraft. (TsAGI, under Russian Federation Government Decree No. 247 of March 29, 1994, was conferred the status of the State Research Center and today claims to be the largest scientific research center in the world).Zhukovsy was the first engineer not only to describe mathematically, the principles of aerodynamic lift but also define the essential profile required - rounded nose or leading edge, the need for double surfaces so the foil had a finite thickness , cambered, curved or straight, and a sharp tail edge. Which he then demonstrated in the first wind tunnel built in Russia.

Ramenskoye has figured greatly in all forms of Russian aircraft / air vehicle development and US / NATO intelligence community designated this facility as Ramenskoye, which is used in the intelligence designation of new aircraft such as "RAM-K", "RAM-J" etc.,

Now Gazeta reports that the massive facility with a 5 Kilometre airstrip will now be officially called Zhukovsky in his honour. .. which may mean the renaming of the famous MAKS airshows held there ...including a contract for the launch of five German radar intelligence satellites (signed in 2002) , produced by OHB-System AG, on top of Russian Kosmos-3M boosters - the second of which SAR-Lupe - 2 was launched successfully from Plesetsk cosmodrome at 23:38, Moscow time, on Monday following on the ist one launched on December 19th 206.

Pic is the 2 rouble piece struck in his honour at St Petersburg in 1997 on his 150th Birthday. A party he did not attend.

Defra announcedon the 16th March 2007, to the surprise of many and the astonishment of the pigeon racing fraternity, that races originating in Coninental Europe could be resumed.

Restrictions had been in place for some time (2 seasons) because of concerns about Avian flu and had also previously been stopped for long periods because of Foot and Mouth. See post by Lord Patel "Ban removed on Pigeon Racing" Grateful but amazed that restrictions had been lifted so soon after the Bernard Matthews Suffolk bou-ha-ha, the 120,000 flyers set to, and arranged very quickly a summer schedule - a monster task in logistics, regardless of adjusting training schedules, breeding programs etc.,

"...a ban on all international pigeon racing from continental mainlandEurope (including the Channel Islands) to the UK.

The ban is being introduced with immediate effect, as a precautionarymeasure, following the recent finding of H5N1 in wild birds in France. It willnot affect domestic pigeon racing activity within the UK which is permitted tocontinue. "

Continental races take place at weekends with birds despatched on Friday to return Saturday / Sunday - depending on location. That means 30,000 - 50,000 pigeons on road transporters crossing the Channel on a Friday afternoon - evening.

Playing ducks and drakes with the regulations naturally incurs costs and displeasure - pigeon racers would have been content that racing continued to be banned - they after all have a special interest as they own huge flocks nationally of great value.

As we speak Lord Patel's loft manager is steadying his nerves with several brown ales. Pic is of one of Lord Patel's chicks earlier this year - destined for great things in 3 years time.

Published in November 2006 this Rumpole tale is remarkably prescient, and acerbic on the question of terror laws - is John Mortimer a member of the Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neveille Jones Fan Club - NO he's a Member at The Garrick...impossible.

Defending a mind-numbingly dull theft charge, Rumpole finds that the new terrorist laws have hamstrung his beloved courts. Meanwhile, a Pakistani doctor has been imprisoned without charge or trial under suspicion of aiding al Qaeda in its plans for a terrorist attack. With the doctor's wife begging him to help her husband, the Great Defender is determined to bring the case before a jury.

Horrified to learn that the accused doesn't even know what he's charged with, he determines to insist upon a fair trial for the Pakistani doctor. But battling against the new legislation, and the slippery Home Secretary, proves a tricky task. And when She Who Must Be Obeyed starts locking herself in the box room, 'minding her own business', Rumpole finds himself losing the plot, clueless about the goings on, even in his own mansion flat.

Is the Anglophile doctor really an Al Qaeda agent? Will Rumpole discover Hilda's secret before it's too late? Will the Timson family ever forgive him for defending a 'terrorist'? Featuring exclusive extracts from the memoirs of She Who Must Be Obeyed, and packed with John Mortimer's wickedly funny satire and compulsive plot-twists, "Rumpole and the Reign of Terror" sees the great defender return to the Old Bailey in a case that challenges the very notion of modern justice.

Friday, July 06, 2007

In a move to " increase security and improve their visible presence " armed police patrolled Petrborough's railway station to "reassure the public" following the attempted car bombs in London and at Glasgow Airport last week.

Which is all very odd when you search in vain for any armed police at the site of the Glasgow Airport fireworks.

STOP PRESS Monday 9th July - Telephone Records NOW available FREE - Link Jeane Palfrey'swebsite has just posted that anyone can apply for her telephone records, released by Judge Kessler yesterday. Her e-mail address is mbsibleydjp@civilforfeiture.com

Reuters has a story today, "Accused D.C. "madam" offers phone records to media" in which they say that she is makinga pre-c0ndition requiring recipients of the phone records to comply with several conditions, including one stipulating that the numbers not be published, traded or sold to third parties.

They must also agree not to disclose the identity of any woman who worked for Palfrey's business without first obtaining the woman's permission.

''It is my patriotic duty to release these records,'' Palfrey told the New York Daily News.

But Palfrey, who faces federal racketeering charges for running what she insists was a legitimate escort service, said she will give only ''coded'' copies of the list to ''responsible'' reporters, bloggers or private detectives who promise not to put them on the Internet.

Palfrey expects to unveil up to 100 customers who risked national security, ''violated the public trust'' or were hypocritical consumers of her company's prurient services.

''These are the real power movers and shakers in Washington,'' she said.

``The rest of them I hope to leave the hell alone. I don't want to destroy the lives of the other 9,900 clients or the lives of the girls.

Raw Storypicks up on an interview with the Vallejo Times, Palfrey (who live in Vallejo CA) said she would make the 46 pounds of Sprint phone records available to any member of the media, including bloggers.

"A couple dozen to 100 or so" of the 10,000 names listed in the records are high profile names, said Palfrey.

With the injunction lifted, it appears Palfrey can now "distribute the records en masse to as many responsible journalists, press, media, bloggers in this country," as she has promised.

ABC News obtained a partial list from Palfrey and her publicity shy lawyer Montgomery Sibley in May, but in the 11th hour decided not to release them, instead only airing a bland interview with Palfrey.

"Within 24 hours the whole thing was whitewashed," They had names to name andthey didn't name them. Who knows who got to them -- I think the powers that beat Disney (ABC's parent company) were exerting pressure on them to kill thestory and they killed it at the last minute."

"I kind of think it will be like deciphering the Da Vinci Code," said Palfrey, in an exclusive (and very lengthy) Times-Herald interview at a local coffee shop with Matthias Gafni published on July 1st before the records were released.

In the interview, Palfrey declined to discuss her former business or whether it involved prostitution.

"Does it really matter at this point? I think there are bigger fish to fry here," she said.

How did she know the records weighed in at the much quoted 46lbs? Shipping them through the Benicia UPS store to her attorney in Washington Palfrey said the UPS clerk told her how much they weighed:

"46 pounds."

You don't get detail like that in the MSM or even Time Magazine with all their "fact" checkers.

Wall Street JournalLaw Blog have an up to date review of the court appointed attorney for Jeane Palfry, Preston Burton (posted as registration is required)

July 5, 2007, 1:39 pmOrrick’s Preston Burton: From Monica to the D.C. Madam Posted by Peter LattmanA decade ago, Orrick’s Preston Burton represented Monica Lewinsky in the investigation of President Clinton by Kenneth Starr and in the impeachment proceedings before the U.S. Senate. Today, he’s representing Deborah Jeane Palfrey, a woman accused of operating a call-girl ring inside the Beltway. Palfrey says she was running an adult fantasy business and her escorts were not engaged in prostitution.

How did he come to represent Palfrey, whom the media has labeled the D.C. Madam? “Several weeks ago, I was minding my own business on a Friday, and Judge Gladys Kessler called me up and asked me if I was willing to take a court appointment in that case,” Burton told Corporate Crime Reporter. “And after checking with the powers that be here at Orrick, who were all very supportive, I agreed to do it. And we are in the midst of that right now.” (Click herefor a Law Blog post on her colorful civil attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley.)

The CCR spoke with Burton about his more-mainstream clients — alleged white-collar criminals. He told them that when it comes to corporate criminal investigations, he bemoans the “free the corporation, blame the individual” dynamic he’s witnessed the past few years. But now, instead of companies throwing their employees under the bus to resolve a government probe, Burton sees a shift.

“Now you have some companies who are not immediately rolling over and waiving the attorney-client privilege,” he told the CCR. “You are seeing some subtle signs of companies standing behind their people more than they were four or five years ago, when there was a rush to locate the rogue employees, throw them under the bus, distance themselves, and try and dust yourself off and start all over again.”

...and Finally and Very Bestest of all ...

Jeane interviewed in a Podcast (53 mins 24 s)with Columbia Indymediaon June 24th which you can listen to here (Thanks Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman!) - if interested in this fascinating case you must listen to this.

Although Ms. Palfrey was charged under R.I.C.O. statutes, she was not charged with tax evasion - there were no "co-conspirators" charged along with her. In 13 years of business, she had no girls arrested and no tax audits. She reported her income, filed her taxes and all of her employees received a 1099 each year - who also paid taxes - for 13 years straight, never once questioned.

It takes two or more to make a conspiracy ... prostitution is not illegal , it is not a Federal crime. Yet nowhere have Federal Attorneys ever prosecuted for prostitution - so Jane asks, why me ?..and why only me ?

One thing is for certain sure .. Brian Ross and his producer Rhonda Schwartz of ABC/Disney have a lot of questions to answer for the results of their "exclusive" seven weeks of investigations.

WASHINGTON -- A woman accused of running a prostitution ring in the nation's capital is free to distribute thousands of pages of phone records after a federal judge lifted a restraining order on Thursday. ..... it tells you nothing you don't know if you have got this far.

If you live in the US of A , and the rise in interest rates has hit you in you credit card....

Help is at hand with a sitedevoted to identify how you can choose a credit card and take part in what the Bank for International settlements calls ..."extraordinary opportunities to expand personal debt. "

As the intention of the site is to flog you a credit card, beware .. it does say on the site ..

"Alan Greenspan played a major role in the housing boondoggle. On February 26, 2004, he said, "American consumers might benefit if lenders provide greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed rate mortgage. To the degree that households are driven by fears of payment shocks but willing to manage their own interest-rate risks, the traditional fixed-rate mortgage may be an expensive method of financing a home."

Presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) last week said:

"From the Great Depression, to the stagflation of the seventies, to the burst of the dot.com bubble; every economic downturn suffered by the country over thelast 80 years can be traced to Federal Reserve policy. The Fed has followed a consistent policy of flooding the economy with easy money, leading to a misallocation of resources and artificial "boom" followed by recession or depression when the Fed-created bubble bursts".

The wife of Robert Cottage (49) said her husband's involvement with the BNP had made him "really radical" and destroyed their marriage. "He just lost the plot,he started acting really strange," Kerena Cottage (29) told a jury at ManchesterCrown Court.

She said: "He thinks there's a war going to happen with the culture, the Asian culture and the white culture and Tony Blair and President Bush are scheming against people."

The authorities were alertedto the alleged plot after Mrs Cottage blew the whistle. She told her social worker she was scared they were going to test the chemical bombs in countryside near Preston.

Mrs Cottage said she understood the chemicals were intended to harm the government or anyone who came unannounced to their home.

Don't expect any surprises until the jury report - an acquittal is in prospect for these sad deluded people who don't appear to have reached even the provisional Wing of the NHS standards in bomb making.

"Defendant in this case possesses a list of telephone numbers (the "List") that has generated much controversy and speculation.

The Government has twice applied to this Court ex parte for Temporary Retraining Orders ("TROs") preventing Defendant from selling the List or from distributing copies for free.

The Court granted those applications, in order to preserve the status quo, and, therefore, held a hearing to give Defendant an opportunity to respond.

Upon consideration of the pleadings,the applicable statutes and case law, and the oral argument, the Court concludes the Defendant's request to quash the TROs should be granted."

I asked Jeane Palfrey for a comment: "I am very, very grateful to Judge Kessler,**** (President of the National Association of Women Judges from 1983 to 1984) for lifting the injunction." –Sincerely, Jeane

"On August 17, 2006, Judge Kessler issued a final verdictfinding that the tobacco companies had engaged in massive wrongdoing and violated civilracketeering (RICO) laws by lying for decades about the health risks oftheir products and their marketing to children. As one of her remedies,Judge Kessler prohibited the tobacco companies from continuing to usedeceptive terms like "light" and "low-tar." The tobacco companies subsequently asked her to allow them to continue using these misleadingterms outside the United States, essentially a request to continue todeceive their international customers. Today, Judge Kessler decisively andappropriately rejected this absurd request that could only come from an industry that survives on deception."

The Brad Bloghas what appears to be informed comment and have spoken to the lady since Judge Kessler announced her decision about the phone records.Commentators provide some fascinating remarks on potential/possible / actual users of Jeane Palfrey's whores - and the capacity for blackmail.

If the logs become available one site. The Renegade Movement has posted a White House telephone Directory for comparisons to be made.

The story even gets a mention in Russian Newspaper Gazeta where Lady Dame Jeane Palfrey the Washington Madam's girls are called "priestesses of love". Amazing pictures !

Muktar Said Ibrahim, 29, of Stoke Newington, north London, Yassin Omar, 26, of New Southgate, north London, Hussain Osman, 28, of no fixed address (he's the one who Met sharpshooters put 13 bullets into / through the head of a Brazilian electrician at Stockwell tube in a case of mistaken identity on 22/7) , Ramzi Mohammed, 25, of North Kensington, west London, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, 34, of no fixed address, and Adel Yahya, 24, of High Road, Tottenham, north London are on trial at Woolwich Crown Court and the jury commence their 6th day of consideration of the verdicts today.

6 men were accused of taking part in a plot to carry out a series of suicide bombings on the London transport system two weeks after 7/7. Charges for causing explosions have been dropped but they remain charged with conspiracy to murder.

All six defendants deny conspiracy to murder;

4 claim the hydrogen peroxide and chapatti flour rucksack devices were a hoax1 claims they were real bombs but that he was duped1 denies having anything to do with the alleged conspiracy.

BAGHDAD — Multi-National Division-Baghdad attack helicopter crews engaged a group of terrorists attempting to fire a rocket toward the International Zone at approximately 10 p.m. July 2 in eastern Baghdad.

Apache crews from 1st “Attack” Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, were conducting aerial reconnaissance when they spotted terrorists emplacing a rocket in the eastern Baghdad Sadr City District aimed toward the International Zone. The Apache crews gained positive identification of 10-15 terrorists who dispersed as the Apache crews closed in on their position.

The Apache crews got clearance to fire from the ground unit and engaged a van and two sedans in which the terrorists fled the site. The crews also fired on the rocket system. The engagement resulted in three enemy vehicles and a rocket system destroyed.

NOTE – Video ‘B-Roll’ depicting this engagement in Sadr City July 2 is available upon request from the Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS) by calling (678) 421-6604.

For more information about this advisory, contact SGM Len Harris, by email len.harris@mnd-b.army.mil This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

- The video begins with insurgents gathered around a rocket tube pointed at the International Zone in a location just north of Sadr City, where recent indirect fire attacks have originated. The video then shows the rocket, aimed at the IZ. After emplacing the rocket system, insurgent get into a van and begin driving away from the location. Coalition Force attack aviation assets engage the van, destroying it.

- In the next sequence, attack aviation assets re-engage the rocket system, destroying it. The rocket can be seen “cooking off.”

- Two other vehicles, sedans, were engaged and destroyed in the next sequence.-30-FOR QUERIES, CONTACT MULT-NATIONAL DIVISION - BAGHDAD PUBLIC AFFAIRS, MNDB_PAO_CIC@MND-B.ARMY.MILThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it OR BY PHONE AT COMMERCIAL (914) 822-8174 OR IRAQNA 011-964-890-192-4674.

UPDATE 5/7/07

Chuckee ( see comments) has introduced us to 3rdID8487 who joined You Tube March 15, 2007 - he describes himself ....

News and video from the men and women of our military! I am former 3rd Infantry Division, 981st MP Co myself and love our men and women of the military. I have started this channel as a tribute to them and their mission.What you will see here are military videos released to the public but not seen on media outlets. Videos from various sources at DOD and other official sites.

Consequently you can view / get your rocks off on the 2 videos described above here described as - MND-B Aircrews Thwart Rocket Attack on IZ

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Police raided a 2 bedroomed flat in Poplar Grove, Colney Hatch, north London, yesterday and discovered 1,800 alleged counterfeit passports, which they claim have a street value off £1m.

The Identity and Passport Service said the fake passports were of a design which has not been used since 2001 but which will of course be legal for several years to come.

In Manchester the current street price for a fake UK passport is said to be about £200 and a stolen / altered one about £250 .UK driving licences cost about £100.

Five men from Albania, Bulgaria and Kosovo, were arrested ;Krum Angelov Poibrenski, 31, no addressKiril Velev, 29, of Ballards Lane, Finchley, north LondonDennis Cenolli, 25, of Collingwood Court, Station Road, New BarnetAltin Ibrahimi, 30, no address, have all been charged with are all charged with possession of articles to manufacture identity documents and possession of identity documents with intent.

Stoyan Minchev, 28, of Ballards Lane, Finchley, is also charged with one count of possession of articles to manufacture identity documents.Readers with a long memory may recall Mahieidine Daikh (see pic) a languid and apparently unconcerned 35 year old of Algerian origin (?) was was arrested at Bangkok's Don Muang airport on 2nd August 2005, with 452 fake passports from France, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. He said he had been promised £15,000 to take the passports into London and was routed to fly into Glasgow.

Daikh is reported to have told the Bangkok Police that he had lived in London for 7 years and was granted British citizenship two years ago. The passports are said to be worth £2,000 each in the UK market.

Daikh , who has UK citizenship is now back and living in Wandsworth. Possession of UK passports in Bangkok is apparently not an offence.

(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the deathof a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier from enemy action in a southern neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, July 4th.

(2) The Canadian Globe and Mailis reporting the deaths of six NATO soldiers plus their Afghan interpreter in an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, July 4th. The nationalities of the six soldiers have not been released at this time, nor the exact province the attack occurred in. NATO confirm the deaths here. They were all Canadians

There are 31 more reports from Iraq and 7 from Afghanistan.

STOP PRESS

A German citizenwho was working as an engineer for an American construction firm in an area between the southern provinces of Nimroz and Farahhas of Afghanistan has been kidnapped (probably last Thursday). The German Foreign Ministry has confirmed the incident. It is believed that the kidnapping may have occured in connection with the company's work - but there are concerns he could be sold to the Taliban if a deal is not reached with his kidnappers.

CNN February 11, 2004WASHINGTON (CNN) --- President George Bush said Tuesday he welcomes a Justice Department investigation into who revealed the classified identity of a CIA operative.

"If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is," Bush told reporters at an impromptu news conference during a fund-raising stop in Chicago, Illinois. "If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of."

"Scooter" has ...er... been well taken care of, the commutation of his sentence is but the first step to his pardon.

But then Daddy did pardon Caspar Weinberger ( a "true patriot" he called him when doing so) who was indicted for lying to the special prosecutor investigating the Iran/Contra affair in December 1992 just before he left office.

Daddy also pardoned 5 others - despite the fact that they had pleaded guilty or had been indicted or convicted in connection with the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages investigation. Step forward Elliott Abrams, a former assistant secretary of state for Inter-American affairs; former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane, and Duane Clarridge, Alan Fiers, and Clair George, all former employees of the Central Intelligence Agency.

At the time the incoming President at a news conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, later in the day, was asked about the pardons, he said he did'nt have all the details on the matter and would withhold comment until he had had a chance to study the president's statement and related information.

However, Clinton said he was concerned...

"by any action which sends a signal that, if you work for the government,you're above the law, or that not telling the truth to Congress under oath issomehow less serious than not telling the truth to some other body under oath."

Hillary on the stump with Bill alongside called the President's treatment of Libby as Cronyism ... well she should know.

FOOTNOTES

Elliott Abrams , despite his record was appointed by george in his First termSpecial Assistant to the President and Senior Director on the National Security Council for Near East and North African Affairs. With Otto Reich he played an active role in planning the Venezuelan 2002 abortive coup against elected President Hugo Chavez.

Intriguingly Robert McFarlane is a member of The Advisory Council of Aegis , Major General Tim Spicers hired thugs who secured massive contracts in Iraq.

Duane Clarridge was CIA station chief in Istanbul in the 80's and had contacts with the Counter Guerilla program and the stay behind Anti-Communist organisation responsible for the Gladio programs and the Bologna Station bombing... amongst many other projects when we moved on to Rome CIA station. When appointed head of CIA in 1981 William Casey appointed Duane Clarridge, as de facto commander in chief in the Contra War.

Clair George, was previously third in command at the CIA (under Gates) and in charge of the agency's global covert operations, was indicted on ten counts of perjury this ended in a mistrial . After a 2nd trial he was found guilty on Dec 9th The maximum penalty George faced for each count was five years in prison and $250,000 in fines, his pardon arrived before sentencing set for February.

The New York Times reports that the Iraqi US Ambassador Ryan Crocker's office say “This is an important step in this Iraqi process,” as the rather exiguous Iraqi Cabinet (Only 24 of the Cabinet's 37 members voted on the Bill as the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front and the Sadrist Shiite blocs have boycotted the Cabinet because of other disputes) passed the first part of the legislative package, known officially as the hydrocarbon framework law, and sent it to Parliament yesterday.

However life is never simple in Iraqi Parliamentary affairs and Mohammed Abu Bakr, head of parliament's media office, said the law had first to go to the energy and oil committee....

"We need seven days to get the draft on the agenda of parliament to discuss it,"

The United States Congress has demanded progress on this oil law before it authorizes additional money for Iraq - most of which will of course be re-cycled to US military / commercial interests. Iraq oil production has fallen from 3.5 million barrels a day to 2 million since the U.S. invasion , due to theft, pipeline damage and exhaustion of wells. Oil provides 95% of the foreign earnings for Iraq.

As the oil being currently pumped is based in Kurdish and Shiite there is a ticklish problem of rerconciling their interest with the Sunni elements. The Kurdistan government, has been very active entering into contracts with external companies oil field exploration and development and is relatively content with things as they are. Likewise the regional control over oil contracting is also vitally important to Iraq’s Shiites, whose ideal is Shiite dominated region in the south with access to the Persian Gulf and operating in the fashion that Kurdistan has been opearting for some time.

Fundamental to the new measures is the establishment of a supreme National Oil Council, which will oversee contract awards. The law (as drafte but which is not publicly available) also permits foreign participation in oil field development.

Whilst there was an draft / initial agreement in February, this was sent for consideration to the Shura Council, whose leisurely consideration has been notionally to consider how the prosed legislation is the Iraqi constitution and with current / existing oil laws.

As soon as President Maliki announced that the legislation could be forwarded to Parliamanet The Kurdish Regional Government (see Bloomberg / Voice of America) report that they claim they have yet to review the final text and would withhold its endorsement until its experts had read it. The Kurdish Government states it will reject the latest text it it has "material and substantive changes" to the previously agreed text on it's website

"We have not seen the final text of the law that the Iraqi Cabinet says it willput to parliament," "We hope that the Cabinet is not approving a text with whichthe (Kurdish administration) disagrees because this would violate theconstitutional rights of the Kurdistan region."

Kurds who make up about 20% of the population control 53 of the 275 Parliamentary seats. They agreed previously with the Shiite, Sunni blocs to accept 17% of the distribution of national revenues, - after deducting federal government expenditures - basically a built in tax.

The Parliamentary Sadrist bloc, with 30 seats, said the law must state that no contracts may be signed with firms from countries with troops in Iraq, an official said and have consequently rejected the draft as it stands.

Saleem al-Jubouri, who claims to speak for the Accordance Front, said his group believed the cabinet had agreed to the changes too hastily and would seek amendments,.. adding that they were not trying to derail the measure.

The hardline Sunni Arab clerical body, the Muslim Scholar's Association, has issued a fatwa saying the draft was "religiously prohibited" because it would allow foreigners to exploit Iraq's oil wealth.

Other Sunni problems threaten to delay parliamentary scrutiny, Salim Abdullah of the Tawafiq Suinni group said “We are astonished at the government’s rush to submit the law to Parliament,”

The Sunnis are also protesting about an arrest warrant against the Culture minister and insist that the speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashadani, a Sunni Arab, who had been asked to step aside by a majority in Parliament is re-instated.

Parliament has extended it's sitting time but will go on holiday at the end of the month for a month - General Petraus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are required to present a report for Washington in the middle of September on Iraq's security and political progress.

US troops had a gun battle on Donkey island in the Sunni controlled western city of Ramadi leaving 23 "insurgents" dead.

1. On Monday a U.S. military Kiowa spotting helicopter was brought down south of Baghdad the day before. An Apache helicopter rescued the two pilots.

2. On the same day an Iraqi army lieutenant colonel and an Interior Ministry intelligence officer were killed in separate drive-by shootings

3. An Iraqi Police Colonel's convoy was hit by an IED killing 2 and wounding 17 civilians.A car bombing in a Shi'ite district of Baghdad killed at least 18 people and wounded 35 more on Monday.

4. U.S./ coalition forces killed 3 terrorists, including an al-Qaida in Iraq leader, and detained 29 others during a raid in Taji.

5. 7 people were killed by a suicide car bomber today , including 3 policemen, when he drove into a police patrol that had pulled up at a restaurant for lunch in Baiji, 180 km (120 miles) north of Baghdad.

6. In US / Coalition Air strikes over the weekend 25 "gunmen" were killed during a 3 day clash in Diyala province north of Baghdad that ended on Monday.

7. On Tuesday, Interior Ministry commandos, ( mostly Shiite ), stopped a car with 4 guards for the Sunni Arab planning minister, Ali Baban at a checkpoint near a US base. Mahdi militiamen appeared and said they wanted to take the guards and IM commandos allowed them to.

8. A bomb exploded in the lobby of Baghdad's Mansour Hotel just outside the Green Zone on Monday and 6 Sunni Muslim sheiks planning to talk with their Shiite Muslim counterparts in the hotel's lobby.

9. "The Iraqi government totally rejects US military operations conducted without prior approval from the Iraqi military command," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in a statement on 1 July after 2 pre-dawn raids in Sadr City the previous day by US troops, killing 26 "terrorists" who had attacked troops with rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs, but an Interior Ministry official, Lt-Col Mahmoud Shakarchi, said all the dead were innocent civilians.

Several women and children were among the dead and injured, according to Lt-Gen Shakarchi. Three women have also disappeared during the raids; witnesses said they were arrested by some Iraqi police officers. The body of one of the women was found on the morning of 1 July in the outskirts of the city. She had been sexually assaulted before being shot, Shakarchi said.

10. Reuters obtained under an FOI request figures from U.S. Department of Labour show 990 deaths of civilian military contractors — 917 in Iraq and 73 in Afghanistan - up the end of March — by the end of March. A further 16 have died in Iraq and 2 in Afghanistan.Meanwhile as the UK give jobs to Iraqi trained doctors ..

"Our children suffer from one of the world's highest rates of heart disease andleukemia and we lack the facilities to treat them here in Kurdistan," he said."With the current situation in the south of Iraq, and particularly Baghdad,it is very hard for us to get the materials, equipment, and pharmaceuticals thatwe need,"

Doctors at Sadr City Hospital continually call for urgently neded medicines and emergency kits, “We cannot cope with the number of casualties. They should send us materials to fully equip our hospital before people start to die for lack of medicines. “We need needles, pain-killers, antiseptic and cotton. Also our X-ray machine is nearly broken and needs to be repaired urgently,”

Yesterday Iraqi Health Ministry officials warned of waterborne diseases among children (see pic) and the elderly during the summer's hottest month of July. Water and sewage networks have not been repaired and this could exacerbate the problem, which has been further highlighted by five cases of cholera in chuildren under 12, reported in Najaf 200 miles south of Baghdad in southern Iraq, the officials said.

Ahmed Assad Naji of Baghdad's health directorate is reported saying -

"Many cases of viral hepatitis, diarrhoea, typhoid and bacterial infections havebeen registered in Baghdad due to polluted drinking water," "Water is anenormous need, and people take it where they can get it, and they are getting itfrom places where it is not always clean.

...and commentators wonder why Iraqi's want to strike back at their invaders., having raped the people they now queue up to steal their oil.

Former BNP candidate Robert Cottage (49), of Talbot Street, Colne, and retired dentist (not a BNP member) David Jackson (62 - with glasses), of Trent Road, Nelson, had denied allegations of conspiracy to make an explosion with intent to endanger life. Jackson had denied possessing explosives, although Cottage had admitted the offence under the Explosive Substances Act 1883.

After a nine-day trial at Manchester Crown Court, the jury spent three days considering the allegations but could not reach a verdict. It was dismissed. Previous post covering the trial and result here.

The re-trial commenced yesterday - it had been brought forward 4 days - it appears that the trial simply consist of a re-run of the evidence produced at the initial trial , simply in front of a new Jury.

At the first trial explosives / forensic expert Sarah Wilson for the prosecution also failed to impress when she explained that the chemicals found could produce so called , "Touch explosives" and were the only possible things that could be constructed , "for which all the ingredients were present at the house." which Jackson's brief Anthony Nuttall was not challenged when he described them as ..." suitable for "schoolboy pranks" and were similar in strength to toy "cap-gun" explosions.

Ms Wilson, under examination also conceded seven of the chemicals found at Cottage's home were either "pointless" or unnecessary in the production of explosives.

Lord Patel will report anything worth repeating. The Court report for yesterday from the Burnley Citizen Online is available here.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

11,000 Palestinian prisoners fester in Israeli jails, (According to the Ramallah-based Mandela Institute for Human Rights) including 150 women and 400 children and many elected members of the Government. A further 200 are being arrested every month.

Now Olmerde has agreed to the release of 250 prisoners - they will be exclusively from from the Fatah faction of Western lackey Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It is also claimed that the prisoners on the list do not have "Jewish blood on their hands," meaning they were not directly involved in attacks on Israelis.

Olmerde who met Abbas at Sharm el Sheikh on the 25th June declares this is a "goodwill gesture" to his new ally Mr. Abbas, because he," opposes violence and supports the peace process."

"I promised the Palestinians that our government will consider the new Palestinian government, free of any Hamas people, as a genuine partner," he said.Palestinian spokesman Mustafa Barghouti says if Israel wants to strengthen Mr. Abbas, it is not enough.

If it is not enough for Palestinians, it is too much for many Israelis. Rabbi Stuart Weiss, whose son was killed in a Palestinian attack, says releasing prisoners will bring more terror.

"To free individuals who are almost without question going to perpetrate many more murders, as has been the case, conclusively proven, in the past is certainly something that can only spell disaster for the nation at large," he said.Israel had frozen roughly US$600 million, mostly customs duties that it collects on behalf of the Palestinians under interim peace accords since Hamas came to power in March 2006. After Mr. Abbas expelled his democratically elected Hamas led Government , backed by the Quartet, Olmerde said the financial transfers would resume.

Olmerde was as good as his word, and The Israeli government transferred US$119 million on Sunday, and Palestinian officials confirmed they received it. The Israelis said there would be another transfer in coming days.This transfer will allow salaries to be paid for the first time in over a year to state employees ( an monthly payroll of US$120 Mn) but there will be no pay for employees hired by Hamas, including the 6,000 members of the militant group's security forces.

Security forces in Gaza were told they would be paid only if they stayed home and refused to work under Hamas command - which means no pay for anyone. Under Hamas, the 165,000 government employees had only received irregular, partial payments because of an international aid boycott imposed over the group's refusal to renounce violence and recognize Israel.

Those they do not starve, they will imprison, the rest they will kill.

It will be interesting to see what the Quartet's New Peace Envoy, our new Jewish Foreign Secretary and the Labour and Conservative Friends of Israel will say when they receive this news... no doubt the chief Rabbi's daughter who works at some unknown task in the new Prime Minister's office will also be overjoyed.

Apparently there is an incapacity in the UK (and maybe elsewhere) to understand how middle class, educated exiled Iraqis, Palestinians, Jordanians can be moved to strike in some way against their aggresors and occupiers.... nor how their sense of inchoate rage can be channelled by those who can fund and organise their greivances to be expressed in violence and terror ... and then so manipulate their actions and then the media to multiply the terror, they are so keen to unleash to impose yet further, order, discipline and it's attendant laws....

"A counter-terrorism official said that the leading theory about who is behind the London and Glasgow attacks is a cell of British-born Islamic militants with ties to Pakistan, and, conceivably, the remnants of the Al Qaeda high command."

"Intelligence chiefs also knew that domestic Islamic terrorists were taking a leaf out of the Provisional IRA's training manual by tightening their self-contained cell structure to minimise the risk of infiltration by MI5 or Special Branch agents. But the attack on Glasgow Airport and the car bombs in London took MI5 completely by surprise, despite a monitoring system which tries to track up to 2000 known or suspected "players". "

Speaking at a news conference Friday after the bomb scare in central London, the Metropolitan Police force's Counter-Terrorism Commander Peter Clarke said that officials had "no indication that we were going to be attacked this way". .....

Reached by CBSNews.com on Friday, the Metropolitan Police's media office could not confirm whether investigators were aware of the Internet posting ( a message timed 08:09 a.m. BST June 28 -- 17 hours the first Mercedes bomb was was found early on 29th June) on al Hesbah.

But then this is what highly placed sources told the Sunday Timeson July 7th 2005

A Scotland Yard source said of the attacks: “This is a total surprise. We have been priding ourselves on our progress in the last few years but tonight we are having to go right back to basics.

“There is no intelligence; we are just not into that world.”

Was it work of al-Qaeda sleeper cell or home-grown terrorists?If investigators can link the explosives they are examining to terror attacks elsewhere it will give detectives vital clues in tracking the networkBy Sean O’Neill and Daniel McGrory Sunday Times8th July 2005

PS

The BBC Onlinereport at the start of the 21/7 bombers trial on 8th March 2007 - for which a result is awaited -reported the evidence of Mr Clifford Todd, principal forensic investigator and head of the Forensic Explosives Laboratory at Fort Halstead in Kent He said the events on July 21 were immediately compared to those of two weeks before when 52 people died.

"Uppermost in our minds were the events of July 7. At that time we were reasonably sure that hydrogen peroxide and organic fuels were concerned in thatcase.

"It looked as though it might be similar, but we had no actualevidence."

He then added as a curious afterthought ....

The forensic specialist, who has 20 years of experience, said he had never come across hydrogen peroxide-based bombs before.

Which helps to explain why the charges of causing an explosion have been dropped from then 21/7 defendents.

It also means that 2 years after - PC PLod / MI/5/6/7 etc., still cannot (or will not) tell us what the 7/7 bombs were made of with certainty.

However bungling and amateur the imported foreign clinicians are at organising, designing, assembling, placing, detonating firecrackers one is left with the impression that Plod is equally incompetent - and it appears has not been looking in the right places for several years.

Explain why Peter Clarke the Sphincter of the Yard should stay in his job a minute longer.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Well joy is unconfined at Patel Towers, My Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones is to join us in the House of Lords and the Boy David has put her in charge of terrism as a result.

The rest of the Fan Club in the Tory Party are overjoyed - such as Fatty Soames, a Director of the armed thugs called Aegis (Prop. Gnl. Tim Spicer) and of course the small but perfectly formed Mr Gove who we enjoy seeing so frequently on Newsnight will be jousting with Ed Balls in future.

All in all an exciting week for the Fan Club. Three "bombs" that could have killed hundreds of thousands of Scots off on Holiday, clubbers and queers all in one delirious weekend, and now this.

No doubt Lord Carlile who is so keen now to lock the bastards up for ever will be keeping an eye out for Lady Dame Jane Pauline.

With Stevens and West sorting out organising terrism at the Home Office and Lord Levy's son helping Tony really agitate the ordure in the Middle East... a long hot summer is in prospect.

It's time the Fan Club organised a T shirt, mugs, Mouse mats etc.,

UPDATE

Cicero's Songsis another evident fan of the lady - he has especially interesting views on her time inciting the Serbs in Bosnia along with Douglas Hurd when she was a full time paid up state spy

Some time ago Lord Patel introduced readers to the CPNI launched on 1st February" the "The Centre for the Protection of the National Infrastructure" which has been ..."formed from the merger of the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) and a part of MI5 (the UK’s Security Service), the National Security Advice Centre (NSAC)."

" ....with resources from a number of government departments and agencies. DITTO

These include MI5, (Ho.Ho.) CESG (Communications Electronics Security Group) - the UK's National Technical Authority for Information Assurance (NTAIA) (see http://www.cesg.gov.uk/) and other Government departments responsible for national infrastructure sectors.

CPNI is accountable to the Director General of the Security Service (MI5) and operates under the Security Service Act 1989. Naturally old boy, probably catch him at Boodle's if the bars open ... take a hint DON'T wear a Garrick tie. Bad form Old Boy.

In legal terms, CPNI is accountable to the Director General of the Security Service (MI5) ooo er ... (the new one not the lady who just left to spend more time with her support garments ?) and therefore operates under the Security Service Acts 1989 and 1996. CPNI is not subject to FOIA and therefore will not process FOIA requests.

So whilst our Lords and Masters are protecting our Critical whotsits they have sat by quite calmly whilst a German State owned company (Deutches Bahn DB)has waltzed off with the company that carries 70% of UK rail freight with growing connections in the now liberalised (since 1/1/ 2007 ) and massive European rail freight market.

Deutsches Bahn swoop

Doncaster based English Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS) took over British Rail's rail freight business in 1996 and employs 5,000 people. It is a private company ( currently owned by a consortium ofUK, North America and New Zealand investors) with 500 locomotives and over 14,000 wagons and carries over 100 million tonnes of freight per year on 8,000 trains every week.

Rail's share of the UK surface freight market (ie road + rail) is now close to 11 %.2 million tonnes of cargo move through the Channel Tunnel to Europe by through freight train per year, where EWS operate as a separate sunsidiary company Euro Cargo Rail - business which collapsed totally when the tunnel was beseiged by illegal immigrants.EWS controls 70% of the cargo sent by train (which has grown 60% in last 11 years) in the UK and has an annual turnover of £500m.

Germany's state owned Deutsche Bahn (who have 90% of the German freight market - Ditto SNCF in France) hve finally agreed terms to buy out EWS for approx £250 Mn - and simultaneously announced a take over of Madrid based Transfesa, a Spanish road and rail logistics provider specialising in transporting cars. Transfesa has a fleet of 7,900 special wagons which are equipped with interchangeable axles , allowing them through transit on Europe's different rail widths eliminating the need of freight transhipment. It has sales of some £180m a year.

Transfesa road-based transport services are increasing and it now has 250 trucks and 270 trailers of its own as well as sub-contracting work.

Earlier this year, drivers of the firm's Class 66 locomotive,(introduced in 1998 a General Motors Canadian built loco - replacing Class 31, 33, 37, 47, 56, 58, and 73) which form the backbone of its fleet, threatened to boycott the trains over "unsafe and unhealthy" condition. Drivers complained in April the cabs lack air conditioning and proper seating and are noisy and unhealthy.

If you read the HOC Select Committee on the EU of 18th Oct 2004 you will see how our wonderful leaders have surrendered our attempts at integrating a Europe wide integration freight network and left it to EU state owned enterprises now to mop it up.

Deutsche Bahn’s land transport, air and ocean freight, contract logistics and supply chain management business units operate under the century old Schenker brand with annual revenues of £11 Billion. The combined transport business is an independent business unit operating under the Intermodal brand with a clear focus on seaport hinterland transport services and the main continental transport corridors.

At the end of 2005, DB bought Bax Global, *** the US-based freight forwarding and logistics business from The Brink’s Company for £623m in cash. This has now been merged into the Schenker business.

The European rail freight market has been open to competition since 1 January 2007 and DB / Railion has been looking to exploit the opportunities offered by a liberalised market. It already provides cross-border rail freight services from a single source, operating 100 freight trains non stop across the European continent daily.

For example Contintental tyres despatch > 90 % of all goods produced at the Puchov plant in Slovakia either to the Hanover (via the Czech Republic) or Straubing (via Austria) European distribution centres and then on by rail to to Miramas, near Marseille, and Traiskirchen, near Vienna .

So DB paid £250 Mn for 11% of UK Total Freight business, and 800 locos and 14,000 waggons. Sounds like a bargain .. what was that about Critical whotsits and the National Infrastructure ?

Whilst are clever spy catchers are worrying themselves (and everyone else) silly about a some wannabe bombers someone is happily stealing our water, energy and transport resources - next one GAZprom and LUKoil (Who from July 1st took over Conoco Philips 1,800 JET petrol stations in Europe) absorb Centrica and a great deal of our fast disappearing natural gas.

PS. (Essen/Dubai, 15 June 2007) Schenker is further expanding its presence in the Middle East region and in East Africa. To achieve this goal, the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary has now set up a Regional Head Office in Dubai. For many years, Schenker was represented by partners, but has now gone a step further and set up a joint venture in Dubai with the former BAX Global *** partner Al Naboodah. From its base in Dubai, Schenker will coordinate its activities in the following countries: United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Federal Marshals were assigned to US Flights into and out of Glasgow and Prague ? Prior notice and no action taken to advise UK Security Services? ... now why would the US Security Services do that ? Iraqi / Jordanian Doctors ... exiles presumably from Iraq.

Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff was quoted in a CNN news report(text) saying"We haven't singled out Glasgow [Scotland] until a couple of days ago as a particular location for focus, but there has been a strategy of mixing up the deployment of these air marshals, sometimes more in one destination, sometimes more in another destination," he said.

Something is definitely murky in the woodshed here that not even the Sphincter of the Yard is going to fathom ... Lockerbie Redux ?

"In other developments today, ABC News reported that US law enforcementofficials received intelligence reports two weeks ago warning of a possibleterror attack in Glasgow against "airport infrastructure or aircraft".

An unnamed senior official told the US broadcaster that the intelligence led to theassignment of federal air marshals to flights into and out of Glasgow and Praguein the Czech Republic."

"The new Security Minister, Admiral Sir Alan West, and former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens, who now advises Mr Brown on international security, have been involved in shaping the Government's response. "

Somebody just accessing this post and translating it produced the wonderful Headline "Mouvement de club de ventilateur de Madame Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones vite ".

The Department of Intellectual property opened a file on May 27th 2007 after receipt of an application dated 18th May 2007 2 weeks after Madeleine's disappearance.

There is a Forum on the Daily Mirrorregarding the "abduction" of Madeleine, the remarkable McCann family and their commercial activities - current fund raising has yielded £867,138.

It is evident that there are many people who hold the most extraordinary - and probably defamatory theories about the disappearance of Madeleine, the role of Gordon Brown etc.,

For those who are reluctant to believe in miracles, Mr McCann reports on the wallet he lost at Waterloo on a flying visit to the UK ... "Our friends brought back my wallet which had been returned, needless to say minus the Sterling, although all my cards and €30 were still in it! It is good to have my driving license back and one or two other important things. "

Curiously even though this information appeared several days ago on the "Official" website it was only this morning Sky News(Who have a special news category for Madeleine) picked the story up - which has also been overlooked everywhere esle in the meejiah.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

"I'm confident - absolutely confident - that in the coming days and weeks we will be able to gain a thorough understanding of the methods used by the terrorists, of the way in which they planned their attacks, and of the network to which they belong." So says Peter Clarke, the Sphincter of the Yard on BBC News - the man who said the 350 man assault and 2 weeks storming of Forest Gate was based on "sound intelligence".... author of the "Lavatory Bomb Massacre , Thousands killed in Bloody Al Quaeda Air Carnage over the Atlantic" which got to No. 1 in the State Terrism Charts last summer before the group was disbanded for lack of evidence.

As these hapless hopeless events seem to have been masterminded by the boy soldiers of the Fred Karno's section of the Al Quaeda , even Clarke and his Metropolitan stumblebums will find at least something these wannabe shit stirrers were doing.

Quite why 2 Asians decided to rent a small house in a quiet village like Houston and drive around in a modest, 4 x 4 Cherokee Jeep to maintain their low profile may become clear - quite why a "suicide bomber" takes along his mate is squandering your military resource - not the sharpest knives in the terrist drawer - not related to "Shoebomber" Richard Reid by chance ?

What is interesting is that Alex Salmond on the BBC 4 Radio News at 5.0 clock today was anxious to point out that those arrested at Glasgow Airport were not FROM Scotland and had only recently been imported.

The First Minister is strongly advised NOT to go climbing in the Scottish Mountains, or even attempt the Munros.

It will be absolutely dreadful if the Mulsim converts who absconded without anyone noticing ,were the motive force in these outrages which will mean locking more people up for longer without charge, evidence or court appearance... just when a newly introduced Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill is starting it's stately progress through Parliament .. and which could be hastily amended... sweeping along with it a rag bag of other matters limiting personal freedoms.

Spun out of Autonomy, by developing a video search engine based on technology that was conceived at Cambridge University, enhanced by $150M in R&D over 12 years and protected by 111 patents, blinx was founded in 2004 by Suranga Chandratillake and operates in the UK and California.

blinkx’s video search engine has a competitive (and unique) advantage by using speech recognition to analyse and identify the component of the video content. Searching is then based on both phonetic and text transcripts to match content with search queries.

Microsoft signed up to use it on October 2006, for parts of MSN and Live.com Lycos, Infospace and parts of AOL are also licencsed users of the technology.

On June 3rd it announced it was also powering video search on Ask.com and then on June 22nd it was announced Realplayer's next version would incorporate the engine

They have also this week launched AdHoc, the first " contextually relevant video advertising platform" . As Google’s AdSense provides textually related ads on the "Text Web", blinkx’s AdHoc platform will (they say in their press release) "revolutionize video advertising by matching compelling, customized, TV-style ads to your audience on the Video Web."http://www.blinkx.com/news?type=&id=409

They launched on AIM in May 2007 at 45p and ran up during the day by 40% to 62 pence.LSE: BLNX but than rapidly ran back down in days and closed on Friday at 43.5 p.

Today, blinkx is the world’s largest single index of rich media content on theWeb, delivering more content from a broader range of sources than either Googleor Yahoo!

In use , retrieval is fast - although type slowly for the search text box - Vagit Alekperov was truncated to Vagit Alkperov - returning the same results for this Russian Oligarch and CEO of LUKoil, but impressively with a query on the spelling.

The site is a model for clarity, ease of use, uncluttered simplicity and speed - the momwentary delay in inputting text into the search box is due to the software for text concept / forecasting kicking in with each character as she is entered.

If you want the moving pictures and you want them fast this is you first port of call - those who want the more ...er..adult side of entertainment remember to switch the default search filter off. Try it now - blinx

In all the excitement nobody seems to have noticed that a Scotsman called Brown slipped quietly into Buckingham Palace this week.

Does this presage the quiet admiration lavished on another Scotsman by another generation of the Royal family ? As the Queen grieves over the memories of her most favourite wife of the next and future King - has she sought solace in that rough embrace, redolent of the Fish Dock in the Lang Toon combined with the perfume of midnight scolarship in the Manse. Och Aye! the Romance of Scotland.

Will his visits become more regular - will there be something in this dour Scot's awkward shyness, his sly obseqiousness that 10 years subserviance to His Masters Voice has instilled in him that have made him attractive to Lady Helen Mirren ? (AKA Queen Elizabeth II ).

Will the Glens of Balmoral and the valleys of Speyside echo to the soft sussurations of tender nothings from Brown as she watches him ply his rod and flies in the soft summer sun ? Sylvie Krin could soon be telling us the tale.... shared breakfasts from the Tuppwerware ....

Is David Icke correct ? Have the Purple Lizards led by HM taken over ? A clue maybe is that the Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones Fan Club have been augmenting Gubment*** in the shape of Sir John Stevens K.St.J ,QPM, DL, LL.D, Hon DCL, M.Phil, CIMgt, FRSA , Master of the Inconclusive and Lengthy Inquiry (who it must be remembered forecast the 21/7 bombers in the pages of News of the World) he is of copurse also an advisor on Policing to the Governments of advises the South African, Jamaican, Bulgarian, Romanian, Qatar and Greece.

Admiral Sir Alan West GCB,DSC. and one time Chief of Defence Intelligence has also ben appointed as amanuensis to Jacqui Smith the new and naive Home Secretary and swiftly and prominently figured in her small entourage to chair the COBRA committee this weekend.

*** Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville - Jones will of course continue as the Fan Club's spokesperson to BBC Newsnight, Today, World at One, PM, BBC World News with her comments syndicated to the TV / Press throughout what we used to proudly call the "White Commonwealth".